Intel Core i7 Nehalem 965 XE 3.2GHz review

Page 16 - Conclusion

Is it that time already? Alright then, lets dispense with the harsh words of this review. When we make summary assessment of a product we consider its purpose, performance in our tests and price. Core i7 addresses all Core 2 shortcomings, mimicking AMD's and their last and only advantage - the integrated memory controller. The new three channel memory provides data transfer to the memory like none seen before. Core i7 with that on one hand makes AMD even more vulnerable, because now the company is likely to redirect its marketing and manufacture to the lower and medium class, attracting customers with low prices and decent performance. On the other hand though, Core i7 presents not anything revolutionary and is merely fixing the "mistake" Intel made by leaving Core 2 with external memory controller.

At this stage Core i7 supplies great performance, but at even greater price. Ne platform means not only new processor, but a new motherboards and in this case new memory too - at least three sticks of it and mind you, the good ones ain't cheap. If you are a gamer we advice you to steer clear away from it, if you are hardware maniac, most likely you're considering obtaining it right now. You see the processor shines in certain professional applications and has great potential in configurations with more than one video cores in the high end. The platform allows use of SLI and Crossfire at the same time, which is valued by both gamers and hardware enthusiasts. And in the end we have no other choice but to award it wit the well deserved 8/10 marks and the "Performance" award. We do insist however that absolute certainty about its use is required before taking the the big decision is Core i7 worth its price when it comes to your needs.

Author: Dimitar Dinchev a.k.a Veseliq

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